Letters: North County, Jan. 12, 2013

This is progress?

Slowly, the old North County Times subscribers are becoming acquainted with the new combination and, in most respects, it is a better newspaper.

However, I do have one complaint. I paid extra to get the weekly TV section with the NCT. Now I have been required to subscribe separately to the TV Weekly (without, I might add, a reduction in the subscription price).

They have replaced a TV section that was about 90 percent correct with one that is, at best, about 40 percent correct.

This is progress?

Bill Miller

Oceanside

Unanswered questions

The questions asked in the editorial “Benghazi’s still-unanswered questions,” Jan. 1, could have had “Iraq” substituted in the title.

When did President Bush know and not know about weapons of mass destruction? Where is the paper trail showing who edited the truth of his administration’s talking points? How much investigation was done tying Al Qaeda to 9/11?

We need these questions answered because of the ensuing official 4,488 deaths and over 33,000 wounded in Iraq by not having the truth told.

Susan Haskell

Solana Beach

Mind-blowing exhibits at Oceanside Museum of Art

A date requested a visit to the Oceanside Museum of Art. I had not gone there for a while. Three exhibits blew our minds.

The quilt exhibit was so real in technique that, unless you stood close, you would think they were paintings. The abstract exhibit was for true contemplation. The monster exhibit overpowered me and I asked my date if we could leave.

I would say the exhibits have something for every member of the family. I’m not sure how long each will be there, but go see them. You won’t regret doing so.

William Hart

Carlsbad

Understanding the Second Amendment

I’ve read a few letters with the typical liberal knee-jerk reactions to the mass murder at the school in Newtown, Conn. It’s clear that many don’t know an automatic weapon from a semi-automatic weapon or even what an assault rifle really is. They really should do some research before opining.

Then there are the letters that appear to be thought-out and honest, but clearly aren’t. Bruce Thompson’s (“The need for a well-regulated militia,” Jan. 3) is one such example. Mr. Thompson doesn’t believe the Second Amendment was to protect us from a government turned tyrannical. He doesn’t know the difference between a militia and a standing army. He wants you to believe that the Second Amendment advocates are a reaction to taxes and obfuscates it with a reference to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791.

The right to self-defense predates the Second Amendment and has even been documented in biblical times. The Bill of Rights was to protect the citizen from the government. After the First Amendment, it was quickly realized a need for the Second Amendment.

Mr. Thompson and his ilk need to read the Federalist Papers. After all, not heeding history, one is doomed to repeat its mistakes; a little knowledge of history is dangerous.